I spent the rest of the afternoon with Ann and Cora, catching up with things we had missed talking out. We also gathered up strength and went for a little run in our human forms, to loosen our muscles and relieve our minds from the tensions around us.

"I can't believe it." Cora breathed heavily. "How can one sibling be all nice and the other one the complete opposite?" she asked, hinting about my mate and his sister.

I stopped on the track and bent down to catch my breath. "Trust me, I don't know. She was too sweet and now, I'm confused whether or not to believe her." Blobs of sweat crossed down my forehead.

Ann caught up behind up, slowly down easily. "Believe her. Some people are sweet, Lily." She tossed me the water bottle in her bag and gave me a wink.

"Don't!" Cora exclaimed. "It could be another trap. We all assumed Alpha Richard was nice but look what he's doing now. Words can be deceiving." Another fact.

I couldn't push myself around the fact that Layla was a sweet, little sister and she had no problem giving her title away after fifteen years of ruling the Scarlet Pride. It was horrendous! But again, she did sound sincere earlier and we all heard the stories about Layla and the kind of woman she was.

"I'm going to trust her. Anyway, enough about me. What have you been up to?" I asked them both.

"Nothing apart from trainings." Ann said in her low, humble tone.

We picked up our pace and started jogging across the empty streets nearby the park. I cocked my head to the left and gave an insisting look to Cora, she started spilling immediately.

"Fine. Seth and I are having a small date tomorrow."

I snorted a laugh and then choked at my breath. "What the fuck? Damn! At least your trainings will be easier now." I knocked my elbow at her and she turned red.

"Hope everything goes well. He's sweet and cute—"

"I just can't wait for my semester to start." Ann interrupted Cora before she could ever finish. "So, I can get some dick as well, tired of being all goody-shoes."

"Awh, I'm sorry but you'll find someone." I gave her hope and she gave me back a warm smile.

Once drenched in sweat and stink, we reached back to our cars and separated our ways from each other. We usually went out for runs whenever we felt bored or exhausted and this was the first time we went since finishing our previous semester.

I broke the news to my friends about taking a gap year to sort out everything and they were fine with it, as long as I wasn't fading away and leaving everyone here. Cora and Ann were both supportive and so were my parents. They trusted Lorenzo and so did I.

The only thing I needed to do now was pack my bags and leave, all while making sure Alpha Richard didn't get a glimpse of the truth. He could do whatever he wanted once I was gone.

As soon as I got in my car, a thought ran across my head and I quickly dialed up Dr. Diane's number. I had forgotten about the voicemail she had sent me as I was too occupied with thinking about my death through the hands of Alpha Richard and then my friends.

I connected the speaker of my car with my phone and started driving. My heart pounded heart as the rings continued to echo in the silence.

"Hi! Sorry for getting back so late. I hope I'm not disturbing you." I said as she picked up.

"Of course, not. How are you?" Dr. Diane asked.

"I'm fine. Did the results come?" The throbbing in my chest was a rare occurrence, I didn't get worried for no reason, only when I felt something was off.

"No, not yet. They'll come by in a few days. But I had consulted a female friend of mine regarding your case and since we are werewolves, we have a different breeding, children system compared to humans." She continued.

I stopped my car at the traffic light and rested my back while nodding my head. "Yes." I was aware of that. Werewolf pregnancies and birth was completely different than humans, we had to be more cautious, more open to any troubles.

"It isn't a rare case, this has happened to many of females from our pack. Your wolf takes the energy off your human, making itself stronger and weakening your human form." I could tell Dr. Diane was avoiding telling everything at one go.

"Mhm."

"Well, you are completely fertile but your human body won't be able to carry a child of another wolf. And if it does, your wolf won't allow the baby to born, resulting into miscarriages, etc." Dr. Diane said, lowering her voice, as if it would make everything better.

My heart stopped for a split-second and I gasped while pressing the brakes of the car at the corner of the street before I'd get into an accident.

My voice broke and I asked. "What?"

"I'm sorry to have to tell this all on phone but if you'd like more clarification, you can come to my office tomorrow and we can talk. You won't be able to get pregnant by a male werewolf, unless, you end your own wolf." She repeated.

I sniffed and didn't say anything. My chest tightened and it got heavier and harder to take a breath after hearing the things I never thought of hearing. The sadness was unbearable. I couldn't have a child of my own, for the rest of my life.

Through the whimpers, I asked. "What do you mean by end my wolf?"

"By ending the wolf, you'll be able to get pregnant by anyone as your wolf will no longer exist and she won't be able to drain the energy out of you." Dr. Diane explained.

No.

My face streaked with tears and my eyes continue to water them down over my cheeks. I slapped my hand over my mouth and stopped myself from crying.

There was an option but ending my wolf would mean ending my true self, ending the mate bond, the mate connection and everything I had been feeling for Lorenzo.

I couldn't do that.

Dr. Diane's voice boomed off the speaker again and I stopped sobbing. "I'm so sorry, Lilliana but this isn't a rare case. What we can do is try out a few medications that have treated females as you but there is no guarantee."

My finger reached out to my phone, hovering over the red button as all I wanted to do was end the tormenting call. "Oh, okay. I'll talk to you later. Thank you, Dr. Diane." I whispered through my sobs.

"Of course. Take care."

I pressed on the button hard and switched off my phone. I sniffed again and hit my head on the steering wheel while Dr. Diane's words rang in my mind.

I couldn't have a child of my own.

Fuck.